


sugar in the gas tank

by thunderylee



Category: NewS (Band)
Genre: Canon Universe, Gen, member love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-01-04
Updated: 2009-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-01 22:18:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12713952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderylee/pseuds/thunderylee
Summary: Sometimes to get where you’re going, you have to stay right where you are.





	sugar in the gas tank

**Author's Note:**

> reposted from agck.

Yamapi’s brow creases as he examines the engine of his car, eyes darting back and forth like something’s going to pop up at him.

“Well?” Massu asks brightly, leaning out of the passenger-side window. “Did Leader find out what’s wrong?”

From where he stands a few feet away smoking, Koyama catches the cringe on Yamapi’s face and knows that he doesn’t want to let them down. “Hey, it’ll be okay, right?” he says to them both. “The others will definitely notice we’re missing and come back for us.”

“Yeah,” Yamapi says slowly, letting the hood slam shut with more malice than is probably necessary. “We’ll just wait it out.”

He leans against the headlights, folding his arms expectantly and staring down the road like Ryo’s car is going to miraculously show up. Massu whistles to himself as he plays a game on his phone, and for the twelfth time Koyama checks to see if he has any reception.

“Why don’t you sit in the car?” Koyama suggests gently to Yamapi. “You’ll get sick if you stay out here.”

Yamapi raises his eyes and Koyama clears his throat nervously, seeing the welled-up anger that’s about to be set loose if Koyama says _one more word_. Instead he offers a cigarette, meets Yamapi halfway and even lights it for him.

They stand in silence, the sun beating down on them until Koyama squeezes out the cherry and stuffs the butt into his front pocket, then retreats to the backseat. He closes the door and hugs himself, his big coat and head scarf not doing much to keep him warm.

“Yamashita-kun is scary,” Massu whispers. “Just now I think he wanted to kick the tire.”

Since he’s in Yamapi’s direct line of sight, Koyama thinks it best not to respond. Instead he plays with the hole in his jeans, just above the knee where it’s fashionably frayed with colored thread. He hears Massu get out of the car and thinks nothing of it, then jerks his head up when he hears him talking.

Yamapi’s eyeing him as he approaches and Koyama’s heart jumps in his chest; Massu doesn’t really know the extent of Yamapi’s wrath. He can’t seem to do anything but watch, though, as Massu stands right in front of him and offers an anpan. Yamapi seems to examine it before taking a bite, then pats Massu on the shoulder and sends him back to the car.

“You’re a brave man,” Koyama says when Massu returns.

Massu shrugs. “He looked hungry. I have three – do you want one?”

Koyama starts to refuse, then realizes that they might be stuck here for awhile and figures he ought to eat while he can. “The others will notice that we’re not behind them anymore, right?” he worries out loud.

“Of course,” Massu replies. “Nishikido-kun is very responsible.”

::

“Ryo-chan, wake up,” Tegoshi says insistently while Shige tries to examine the map. “I think we’re lost.”

“Let Yamapi get in front and follow him,” Ryo mumbles, curling back up with his seatbelt.

Tegoshi and Shige exchange a look, seeing nothing but cold, windy road behind them. “We must really be lost,” Tegoshi whispers.

“Nothing to do but keep going,” Shige says with a shrug, and Tegoshi leans back in his seat as they do exactly that.

::

“Yamapi,” Koyama tries again, lowering the window just enough for his voice to be heard. “Come back to the car, please.”

Yamapi glares. “I don’t want to.”

“But…” Koyama wonders what Tegoshi would do in this situation, to get his way. “But I’m _cold_.”

“If you keep the window up, you won’t let the cold air in,” Massu says logically.

Koyama shushes him as he gives Yamapi his best pout. Now the sky is overcast and dark for late morning, but he’s pretty sure Yamapi can still see him. Regardless, he sees the younger reluctantly approach the car and scoots over to offer his seat. His butt is cold now, but Yamapi needs the heat more.

“Leader’s face is pink,” Massu observes out loud as Yamapi sits down and closes the door behind him, rubbing his hands together.

“That it is,” Yamapi says calmly, covering his nose with both hands once they’re not frozen anymore.

He stays like that for a long time, until Koyama notices his shoulders shaking a little. “Yamapi,” he says quietly.

“Shut up,” Yamapi says softly, leaning away from him and hiding a sniffle. “You can’t make it better this time, Kei.”

Koyama looks helplessly at Massu, whose frown seems to darken Koyama’s entire life. He refuses to give up this easily, though, no matter what Yamapi says. Ryo certainly wouldn’t stand for it. “Get yourself together, Tomohisa.”

Slowly, Yamapi turns to look at Koyama, his wide red eyes looking like he’s unsure of who is speaking to him. “What?”

“If there’s nothing that can be done, it can’t be helped,” Koyama tells him. “The others won’t find us if we don’t reach out with our hearts.”

“He’s right,” Massu chimes in. “Let’s try really hard so that they will see us, yeah?”

“That’s not-” Yamapi starts, then sees the two pairs of big eyes that are staring hopefully at him. “All right,” he finally agrees, then holds his head high and takes a deep breath.

Koyama inwardly declares victory, particularly when Yamapi closes his eyes and leans back. The NewS leader is the happiest when he’s sleeping, after all. Quietly he pokes Massu and motions for him to come back with them; perhaps all three of them together could conjure up enough body heat to stay warm.

It takes a second for Massu to figure out what Koyama is trying to say, then he nearly crushes Yamapi as he tries to squeeze between the front seats instead of getting out of the car and going around.

Not that Koyama blames him. The windows are starting to frost over and Yamapi’s teeth are chattering; the minute Massu settles down on the other side of him, he immediately wraps his arms around Yamapi and buries his face in his coat.

Yamapi blinks and pets Massu’s head awkwardly. Koyama snuggles closer but doesn’t feel any warmer, sighing and making a face at his own breath. There has to be _something_ they can do to get warm; he bets that Shige would know what to do. Sometimes he wishes that he was smart like Shige.

Then he remembers this one show he watched on TV while he was flipping channels one day, where a guy and a girl had been stranded in a cold place and the guy suggested that they cover up with their own clothes. He had always thought the guy was just trying to get into her pants, but thinking about it now, it makes sense that _direct_ body heat would be the best way to stay warm.

“We should take off our clothes,” he blurts out. “And use them as blankets.”

“What?” Yamapi mumbles sleepily.

Massu’s already unzipping his coat. Yamapi puts up a protest at first, but once he’s actually skin to skin with Massu, he relaxes and burrows towards the warmth.

“Koyama-kun is a genius,” Massu says quietly as he adds his polka-dotted pants to the pile of clothes surrounding them.

Koyama smiles as he feels Yamapi’s steady heartbeat against his own chest, happy that the other members of NewS can still be there for them even when they’re not physically _there_. He thinks that says a lot about their member love.

As their body heat encompasses him and lures him into a midday nap, he sees the kanji etched in the fogged-up window where Massu had been sitting previously. _Nantoka naru sa_.

Koyama closes his eyes and reaches out to Ryo, Tegoshi, and Shige with all of his heart.

::

“Hey, do you feel something?” Tegoshi asks, tilting his head at nothing.

Shige shivers. “Maybe?”

Ryo moans in his sleep.

::

It’s dark outside when Koyama wakes, which makes it even scarier because somebody’s _scratching on the windows_.

Of course, he shrieks. Massu sits straight up, both eyes open, while Yamapi flings his arm around Koyama’s waist and mumbles, “Knock it off, Jin.”

“Kei-chan?” a faint voice says. “Is that you?”

“Oh my…” Koyama starts, a grin spreading on his face so big that it hurts. “Tegoshi!”

“Is the door locked?” Ryo’s growling. “I can’t get the fucking thing open.”

Koyama leans over to pull the lock, but it still doesn’t budge. “It must be frozen shut!”

Meanwhile, Massu has gotten himself and Yamapi dressed, flinging Koyama’s clothes at him as he flops across both of their laps and places both hands on the door. “I’m going to push while you pull, okay?”

“Okay,” three voices answer.

Koyama throws on his clothes and helps too, and together the five of them manage to pry the door open. He has never been so happy to see Shige’s face, or Tegoshi’s, or Ryo’s, and he can’t hug them all fast enough.

“Relax, Kei,” Shige says quietly, patting Koyama’s back while the latter sobs on his shoulder. “We came back as soon as we got to the cabin and saw that you weren’t already there.”

“Ryo-chan wanted to come by himself,” Tegoshi adds. “But we wouldn’t let him.”

Koyama raises his head to look dotingly at Tegoshi, and that’s when he realizes that it’s been snowing this whole time. Yamapi’s car was a snow-covered lump on the side of the road that probably wouldn’t be visible by anybody driving by. “How did you know -?” he starts.

Shige points at the window, where the kanji is still visible. “I barely saw it.”

“Look, we match!” Tegoshi calls from over by Ryo’s car, where he had drawn _Ai Nante_ into the back window.

Ryo twitches but doesn’t say anything but “Can we go? It’s cold.”

It takes all six of them to pry open the trunk, and Massu and Shige transfer the luggage while Shige and Ryo argue over the seating arrangements. Tegoshi happily rides the e-brake between Ryo and Shige while the other three pile in the backseat once again, returning naturally to the position they were in before. Yamapi’s out like a light, using Massu as a pillow, and Koyama feels warm despite sharing Ryo’s heater with five other people.

Then Yamapi squirms, making a face of discomfort until he finds the button of his pants under all of his layers and pops it. “I think my jeans shrunk,” he mumbles into Massu’s lap, and that’s when Koyama looks down and sees the fashionably ripped hole right above _Yamapi’s_ knee.

He supposes it could be worse.


End file.
